Monday, August 4, 2014

Don’t worry about Ebola disease, the govt alerts the general public

Tanzanians have been assured not to worry about the possible outbreak of the
deadly ‘Ebola’ hemorrhagic fever. disease as the government has put in place effective
strategic measures to curb the prevalence of the disease in the country. The
spokesperson of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Nsachris Mwamaja
said yesterday in Dar es Salaam that, the government has formed a taskforce
team consisting of medical experts who would work in collaboration with the
health stakeholders to closely follow up the prevalence of the disease in the
country. He told the Guardian over the telephone interview when contacted to
clarify how the government has prepared itself to curb the deadly Ebola disease
which has killed hundreds of people in West Africa, bearing also in mind that
the disease was first discovered to have entered in the country in late 2012
from Uganda. Fears of a possible outbreak of the deadly Ebola disease are
rising following fresh reports that another outbreak has rocked lives of people
in West Africa The call by the government has come hardly a day after it
summoned top health officials for an emergency meeting on Thursday this week with
a view to draw up plans to forestall any possible Ebola attack in the country. The
Thursday meeting at the ministry’s headquarters was in response to a growing
concern among several nations both in Africa and Europe over the growing Ebola crisis
that has killed hundreds in West Africa. According to Mwamaja, the government
through the ministry of Health has also sent expertise in district and at
national level to work on the issue to relieve the minds of the people about
the possible outbreak of the disease in the country. He said the expert would
work with the immigration staff to monitor visitors coming in the country as
one way to curb the prevalence of the disease. However, he said adding that,
the ministry has issued personal protective equipment which would help in
monitoring.

For the precautions to be undertaken, the spokesperson noted that,
the government has cautioned all district medical as well as their regional
counterparts to corporate with the taskforce team into educating people about
the disease. He also stated that, the district health workers had since started
warning people in surrounding villages to take immediate measures whenever they
come across such patients to be careful not to come into contact with any
person whom they see vomiting or bleeding – clear signs of someone suffering
from Ebola. He said when the first victim of the disease was discovered in the
country in late 2012 in Kagera region, the government had bought the equipment
that managed to help discover with ease the affected people, and now together
with the fewer stock available, the government has added more to be used by the
task force team. He affirmed that, the government is also working closely with
the development partners to make sure that, there is a maximum effort to be
added in order to eradicate any threat among the people especially in rural
areas where awareness over the disease might be low. He said in case there will
be any people found to have been affected by the disease would be put in
separation in special camps and would not be mixed with others for fear of more
infections. However, he noted the government has arranged to put in place such
plans bearing the fact that, viruses causing Ebola disease are fast and
spreading more quickly among the community and moreover it has no complete treatment
other than prevention. Meanwhile, the government Chief Medical Officer, Donan
Mmbando has said that Health Ministry is planning to solicit money for
emergency purposes from the central government which would help experts to curb
with any possible outbreak of the disease in the country. (Ebola HF) was a
severe, often-fatal disease in humans and nonhuman primates (monkeys, gorillas,
and chimpanzees) that has appeared sporadically since its initial recognition
in 1976. The disease is caused by infection with Ebola virus, named after a
river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), where it was
first recognized. The virus is one of two members of a family of RNA viruses
called the Filoviridae; there are five identified subtypes of the Ebola virus
-- four of which have been known to cause disease in humans: Ebola-Zaire,
Ebola-Sudan, Ebola-Ivory Coast and Ebola-Bundibugyo. The fifth, Ebola-Reston,
has caused disease in nonhuman primates, but not in humans.

AWARD 1

I won the second prize in policy category of the African Information society Initiative ( AISI) awards 2004 which is annually organized by the United Nations- Economic Commission for Africa ( UNECA) based in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia. On the first photo above standing with other awardees after the Ceremony at the National Settlers monument in Grahamstown, South Africa.This was during the 8th Highway Africa Conference.The second photo shows the cross section of Jounalists from different African countries who attended the ceremony.

AWARD 2

I also won the AISI-GKP/SDC Media Award special reporting on WSIS process and Africa, and conferred with the award in Tunis, Tunisia during WSIS summit in 2005. See the photo above.

AWARD 3

Winner on the Media Competition on writing about " Stigma denial and Discrimination" associated with HIV/AIDS. This was organized by theAssociation of Journalists Against Aids in Tanzania ( AJAAT). On the Photo above President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete of Tanzania, ( then the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation) was the guest of honour during the award giving ceremony.This was at Maelezo auditorium in Dar-es-Salaam September 2005.

AWARD 4

Winner on the Media Competition on writing about "Vulnerable Children" associated with HIV/AIDS This was organized by the Association of Journalists Against Aids in Tanzania ( AJAAT)

AWARD 5

Winner of the National ICT Media Award organized By SWOPNET in the Country. On the photo above Morogoro Regional Commissioner, Brigadier General ( Rt) Saidi Kalembo was the guest of honour during the award giving ceremony which was held at New Sarvoy Hotel in morogoro town.I was awarded a Mobile phone and a tape-recorder.

AWARD 6

I participated in the Media Competition in writing about VCT (Voluntary Counseling and Testing) in Tanzania which was held between July 15th and October 30th 2008 whereby I emerged among the top five winners. The competition was under the program known as “Tanzania bila Ukwimwi inawezekana” which literally means, Tanzania without AIDS disease transmission is possible”. This is a program which was organizedby the Association of Journalists Against AIDS in Tanzania (AJAAT) under TACAIDS funding. In the photo, I am being presented with a certificate of participation by the Chairman of the Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS) Dr. Fatma Mrisho in a colorful ceremony which was held on 22nd December 2008 at Tanzania Information Centre in Dar es Salaam.

AWARD 7

AWARD 8

AWARD 9

I was among the top 17 best selected students who excelled in their final examinations of the 2010/2011 academic year and awarded with the Vice-Chancellor’s prize. I scored 4.5 GPA (First Class) in BA in Journalism. Above I am being given a certificate by the Chairman of the Open University of Tanzania Board of Senate. Standing at the centre facing camera is the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tolly Mbwette. Extreme left partly hidden is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Elifas Bisanda. This occasion took place during the convocation meeting, a day before the graduation day at the prospective permanent headquarter of the Open University of Tanzania which is currently under construction at Bungo-Kibaha in Coast region 40 kilometers away west of Dar es Salaam city.